Exit device vertical rod collapsible latch bolt

ABSTRACT

An exit device consisting of a crossbar adapted to be pushed to raise upper and lower vertical actuating rods which in turn release respective upper and lower latch bolts so that the door can be opened. The upper latch bolt is pivoted near its outside end so that, when released, it will fall into a withdrawn position by gravity, assisted by a wiping of a front face of the latch bolt by a retaining plate on the door frame. A blocker, pivoted on the inner side of the housing, holds the latch bolt in extended locked position by engagement with a downwardly facing shoulder on the inner side of the latch bolt. The upper actuating rod is linked to the blocker in such fashion that the blocker is swung out of blocking position when the actuating rod is lifted. When the actuating rod is released, the weight of the rod serves to urge the blocker toward blocking position. The upper latch bolts is returned from retracted position to extended position by a slide which is shifted transversely toward the latch bolt when the slide strikes a strike face, the slide then serving to push upon a projection on the upper latch bolt which tilts the latch bolt into the extended position, where it is blocked by the blocker until released. A lower latch bolt is also pulled to released position by upward movement of the lower actuating rod and held in released position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in released position. Also, the lower latch bolt is held in latched position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in latched position by the blocker.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard L. Armstrong Santa FeSprings, Calif.

[21] Appl. No. 754,661

[22] Filed Aug. 22, I968 [45] Patented June 8, 1971 [73] Assignee NorrlsIndustries Inc.

Los Angeles, Calif.

[54] EXIT DEVICE VERTICAL ROD COLLAPSIBLE LATCH BOLT 4 Claims, 13Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 292/198, 292/21, 292/210 [51] Int. Cl E05: 3/02 [50] Fieldof Search 292/21, 92, 198, 216, 237, 332, 336, 210, 233; 70/92 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,585,167 5/1926 Palmer 292/212,887,336 5/1959 Meyer 292/21 2,911,249 11/1959 Jewett et al... 292/3363,083,560 4/1963 Scott 70/92 3,124,378 3/1964 Jackson 292/5 3,214,947ll/l965 Wikkerink. 70/92 3,319,986 5/1967 Balducci PrimaryExaminer-Stephen .l. Novosad Assistant ExaminerRobert L. WolfeAttorney-Beehler & Arant ABSTRACT: An exit device consisting of acrossbar adapted to be pushed to raise upper and lower verticalactuating rods which in turn release respective upper and lower latchbolts so that the door can be opened. The upper latch bolt is pivotednear its outside end so that, when released, it will fall into awithdrawn position by gravity, assisted by a wiping of a front face ofthe latch bolt by a retaining plate on the door frame. A blocker,pivoted on the inner side of the housing, holds the latch bolt inextended locked position by engagement with a downwardly facing shoulderon the inner side of the latch bolt. The upper actuating rod is linkedto the blocker in such fashion that the blocker is swung out of blockingposition when the actuating rod is lifted. When the actuating rod isreleased, the weight of the rod serves to urge the blocker towardblocking position. The upper latch bolts is returned from retractedposition to extended position by a slide which is shifted transverselytoward the latch bolt when the slide strikes a strike face, the slidethen serving to push upon a projection on the upper latch bolt whichtilts the latch bolt into the extended position, where it is blocked bythe blocker until released. A lower latch bolt is also pulled toreleased position by upward movement of the lower actuating rod and heldin released position as long as the upper latch bolt is held in releasedposition. Also, the lower latch bolt is held in latched position as longas the upper latch bolt is held in latched position by the blocker.

I mw

EXIT DEVICE VERTICAL ROD COLLAISIBLE LA'ICII BOLT Exit devices of thetype herein disclosed are those used often on public buildings wherethere may be need for a relatively large number of people to quicklyleave such a building. Exit devices have often been termed "panicdevices." Such devices customarily employ a relatively long crossbar onthe inside of the door which serves to unlatch or retract upper andlower latch bolts when the crossbar is either pushed, or even leanedagainst, so that the door will immediately swing to wide open position.Since such exit devices or panic devices are intended to be kept capableof being released quickly and with a minimum of manipulation on the partof persons desiring to open the door, they should be made rugged enoughto withstand a sudden, heavy, rapid opening operation and should also besuch that the mechanism will not hang up or get stuck when the need forrelease is greatest.

Although devices of this general type have been in use for severaldecades, they have had various and sundry objectionable features,including difficulty of installation, looseness of engagement oflatching devices with retaining means, and, on some occasions, have beensuch that they could not always be depended upon to release the latchunder all emergency conditions. Some structures, moreover, have beenobjectionable because of there being no convenient means of holding thelatch bolts in withdrawn position when the door is swung to and fro,causing a condition such that the lower latch bolt is prone to drag overthe floor surface, and the upper latch bolt needing some specialconstruction to cam it to extended position when the door is closed.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved exitdevice, wherein both upper and lower latch bolts are swung to retractedposition by upward movement of an actuating rod when subjected torelease pressure by a crossbar.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved exitdevice, wherein the upper and lower latch bolts are deadlocked inlatched position by a simple, positive acting, deadlocking mechanismwhich is easily released when the door has to be opened.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedexit device, wherein the upper latch bolt is so designed and mounted asto fall into release position by gravity, thereby to eliminate the needfor some auxiliary means such as a spring, the construction furtherbeing such that the swing of the door will assist in shifting the upperlatch bolt to its release position as the door is being swung to openposition.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedexit device of such design and construction that the greater the crowdweight which may be applied to a crossbar and even against the door forquickly opening the door in an emergency situation, the more effectivewill be the unlatching of the latch bolts.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of thedevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafterset forth, pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the exit device shown installed on theinside face of a door.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the upper latch bolt housing with theexterior cover shown in section.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a slide used with the upper latch bolthousing.

FIG. 9 is a vertical perspective view emphasizing operating parts of theupper latch bolt mechanism and showing the upper latch bolt blocked inextended position.

FIG. I0 is a view similar to FIG. 9, but showing the upper latch bolt inretracted position.

FIG. I1 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 3, bu showing theupper latch bolt in retracted position. I

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the lower latch bolt housing.

FIG. 13 is a view taken on the line 13-13 of FIG. 11.

In an embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose ofillustration, the exit device is shown attached to the inside face 10ofa door 11. A mounting arrangement on the exterior of the inside face10 has been chosen for the purpose of illustration, but it should beunderstood that the device is of such design and construction that itcould be mounted within the door II itself intermediate the inside face10 and an outside face 12. In the chosen embodiment, the door 11 isshown mounted in a frame 13, an upper portion of which is provided witha retainer plate 14 extending over an opening 15, and a strike plate 16.At the bottom is a threshold I7 provided with a transversely extendingretainer flange 18, the threshold 17 being secured in customaryconventional fashion to a supporting surface 19.

An upper latch device, indicated generally by the reference character20, is shown located near the top edge 21 of the door II and adjacent afree swinging side edge 22. A lower latch device, indicated generally bythe reference character 24, is shown located adjacent the bottom edge 25and also adjacent the free swinging side edge 22.

Intermediate the upper and lower latch devices 20, 24 is located what iscommonly designated as an active case 26 in which is pivotally mounted ahinge arm 27 which supports a crossbar or push bar 28, one end only ofwhich is shown in FIG. I. The hinge arm 27 is so pivoted by conventionalmeans that, when pushed against, it will lift a plate 29 and therebyalso lift an upper actuating rod 30 and a lower actuating rod 31, bothof which are attached to the plate 29. Lifting the upper actuating rod30 serves to withdraw an upper latch bolt 32, while lifting the loweractuating rod 31 serves to withdraw a lower latch bolt 33.

Having reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, it will be noted that an upperlatch housing 35 is attached to the door 11 by means of bolts 36 andsleeves 37 at the location shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, which is slightlybelow an outwardly facing recess 38 of the frame 13 and below theopening 15. The upper latch bolt 32 is attached to the upper latchhousing 35 by means of a pin 39 which is located on one side of theupper latch bolt 32 and which, in the association of parts comprisingthe structure disclosed, is on the side of the upper latch housing 35facing outwardly relative to the swing of the door II. The pin 39 isappreciably off center with respect to the upper latch bolt 32, so thatthe weight of a latching projection 40 acts to rotate the upper latchbolt 32 downwardly or clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 3, without theassistance of any resilient means such as a spring.

On the upper latch bolt 32 is an outwardly directed face 41 which isadapted to engage an edge 42 of the retaining plate 14, when the upperlatch bolt 32 is extended into latched or locked position, as shown inFIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the upper latch bolt 32 extending through a hole 43,which forms the edge 42. The hole 43 is made large enough so that thelatching projection 40 can extend easily into and out of it duringoperation.

A blocker 45 is attached by means of a pivot pin 46 to the housing 35 onthe side opposite from the pin 39. The blocker 45 has the shapegenerally of a bell crank, a lower arm 47 of which is attached to a link48 by means of a pin 49. The link 48 is attached to a connector 50 bymeans of another pin 51. In the embodiment shown, the upper actuatingrod 30 is in the form of a channel and is attached to the connector 50by means of screws 52.

An upper arm 53 of the blocker 45 terminates in a blocking element 54which is adapted to engage beneath a downwardly facing shoulder 55 onthe upper latch bolt 32. In the embodiment shown, the weight of theupper actuating rod 30 and members attached to it serve to rotate theblocker in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 3, therebyalways to urge the blocking element 54 into its blocking position bymeans of gravity action.

It will be clear from the foregoing description that when the upperactuating rod 30 is lifted, as it will be when the hinge arm 27 isdepressed by pressure upon the crossbar 28, the blocker 45 will berotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, thereby todisengage the blocking element 54 from its blocking position beneath theshoulder 55. When this occurs, the upper latch bolt 32 will rotate, dueto its own eccentric mounting, out of the projected position of FIG. 3and into the retracted position of FIG. llll.

A chamber 56 of ample proportions is provided in the upper latch housing35 so that the blocker 45, the upper latch bolt 32, the link 43, andconnector 50 can all move freely and without interference.

Located below a pivot plate 60 at the upper end of the upper latchhousing 35 is a slide 61 which is adapted to move in a direction fromright to left and left to right, as viewed in FIG. 3. A hole 62 in theslide 61 freely accommodates the latching projection 49 of the upperlatch bolt 32. On the upper latch bolt 32 and outwardly relative to thepin 39 is a generally upwardly extending projection 63 which is adaptedto engage an outwardly facing edge 6 of the slide 61. As the upper latchbolt 32 rotates, the projection 63 moves against the edge 64 and shiftsthe slide 6]! in a direction from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 11.This results in projecting the inside end of the slide till laterally sothat an appreciable portion of it is exposed exteriorly relative to theupper latch bolt housing 35. In the retracted position of FIG. 11, acomer of the upper latch bolt 32 rests in a recess 65 of the blocker 45,and this assists in limiting rotative motion of the upper latch bolt 32at the extreme of its retracted position. In this last mentionedposition, the upper arm 53 of the blocker 45 is drawn into engagementwith the adjacent curved surface of the latching projection 40 by actionof gravity on the upper actuating rod 30 and parts attached to it.

In operation of the device described up to this point, when the door 11is to be opened, as previously noted, pressure upon the crossbar 23 andhinge arm 27 acting against a bracket 39 on the plate 29 serves tounlatch the upper latch bolt 32, moving it from the position of FIG. 3to the position of FIG. III. This is accomplished by dislodging theblocking element 5 1 from the shoulder 53. The upper latch bolt 32 thenproceeds to fall by gravity, but as pressure is exerted continuallyagainst the crossbar 23, and perhaps against the door llll itself,urging the door ll outwardly as the latching projection as and itsoutwardly directed face 41 is pushed against the edge 42 of theretaining plate 14, the action described tends to sweep the upper latchbolt 32 out of projected position, pushing it downwardly to the positionshown in FIG. Ill, thereby assisting gravity and making certain thateven if gravity action should be insufficient, the upper latch bolt 32will be pushed to the retracted position of FIG. Ill. The upper latchbolt 32 will remain in the retracted position described as long as thedoor 11 remains open.

When the door 11 is swung to closed position, the upper latch bolt 32will remain retracted until the slide 61 strikes against the strikeplate 16. This, of course, will not happen until the door 11 is almostin full closed position. As the door It continues to swing to a finalfull closed position, the slide 61 is shifted in a direction from rightto left, as viewed in FIG. llll, so that the outwardly facing edge 64pushes against the projection 63 of the upper latch bolt 32, causing itto rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. ll, untilthe latching projection 46) is pushed upwardly through the hole 62,through a complementary hole 66 in the pivot plate 60, and upwardlythrough the hole 43 in the retainer plate M until it reaches theprojected or locking position shown in FIG. 3. When the upper latch bolt32 finally reaches locking position, weight of the upper actuating rod30 will rotate the blocker 45 in a counterclockwise direction, as shownin FIGS. ll and 3, thereby pulling the blocking element 5 3 to itsposition underneath the shoulder 55 and deadlocking the upper latch bolt32.

The lower latch bolt 33 is designed and assembled for contemporaneousaction with the upper latch bolt 32. To accomplish this, the lower latchbolt 33, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, is tiltably mounted by meansof a pin 67 to a lower latch housing 68 at the lowermost portion of thelower latch housing 63 and on the inward side. A chamber 69 is providedin the lower latch housing 68 so that there is ample room for the lowerlatch bolt 33 to swing, together with other parts attached to it.

The lower actuating rod 31 is attached to a connector 70 by means ofscrews 71, and a link 72 is pivotally secured to the connector 70 bymeans of a pin 73. A pin 74 pivotally secures the link 72 to the lowerlatch bolt 33 within a recess 75. To ease operation of the lower latchbolt 33, the pin 73 is adapted to ride in a vertical slot 76 againstaction of a compression spring 77 held within a spring bore 78. When thelower latch bolt 33 is extended, as shown by the broken lines in FIG.12, it will fall behind the retainer flange 18 when the door ll is infull closed position, thereby to latch the lower edge of the door Illclosed. When the lower actuating rod 31 is lifted, simultaneously withlifting the upper actuating rod 30, the lower actuating rod 31 will pullupon the link 72 which, in turn, will rotate the lower latch bolt 33clockwise, as shown in FIG. 12, to retracted position and will hold itthere as long as the upper latch bolt 32 is held in retracted positionin the manner heretofore described.

To dress up the assembly described, there is provided a cover extendingaround the upper latch housing 35 and secured thereto by means of ascrew 86. Similarly, a cover 87 extends around and is secured to thelower latch housing 68 by means of a screw 83.

For adjustment purposes, there is provided an adjusting screw 30 whichfrts in a threaded bore 81 in a block 82 attached to the lower end ofthe upper actuating rod 30. A clevis 33 is pinned to the plate 29 bymeans of a pin 84. A similar adjustment, not shown, may be provided foradjusting the lower actuating rod 3!.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what isconceived to be a practical and effective embodiment, it is recognizedthat departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention,which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but isintended to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

lclaim:

ll. An exit lock device for a door which is vertically hinged in anoutwardly swinging direction on a frame having an upper retaining meansadjacent the top end of the door, said device comprising an upper latchhousing on the door adjacent the top thereof, an upper latch bolt havinga body with outward and inward sides and a mounting on a portion of thebody thereof adjacent the outward side comprising a movable attachmentbetween said upper latch bolt and the housing, a latching projection onthe body located eccentric and inwardly with respect to said mounting,said latching projection being adapted to project above the upper end ofthe housing and having an outwardly facing section adapted to engagesaid upper retaining means whereby to hold the door in closed position,a downwardly facing shoulder on the inward side of said latch bolt, anda blocker having a mounting comprising a movable attachment between saidblocker and said housing and having a blocking element thereon movableto a location in blocking engagement with said shoulder, and actuatingrod means having a vertically reciprocable mounting relative to saidhousing, and a slide having a horizontally reciprocating mountingadjacent the top of the housing, said slide having a positive continuousengagement with said latch bolt in all positions of said latch bolt saidslide in closed position of the door having a retracted position inengagement with a portion of said retaining means and with said latchbolt in a direction productive of retention of said latch bolt inupwardly projected position, said rod means being attached to saidblocker at a location eccentric with respect to said attachment of theblocker on the housing and at a location adapted to move said blockerinwardly out of said blocking engagement upon movement upwardly of saidrod means and movement outwardly of said door whereby to release saidlatch bolt for movement in response to pressure against said upperretaining means out of engagement with said upper retaining means andfor movement of said slide to projecting position.

2. An exit device as in claim 1 wherein engagement of the outwardlyfacing section of the upper latch bolt with the upper retaining means isat a location rearwardly and upwardly of said movable mounting wherebypressure applied to said door in an outward direction assists in urgingsaid latch bolt to unlatched position.

3. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein said attachments comprisespaced parallel pivotal mountings respectively for said latch bolt andsaid blocker, the pivotal mounting of the blocker being inward relativeto the mounting of said latch bolt.

4. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein there is a horizontallyextending crossbar assembly, means mounting said crossbar assembly onthe inward side of the door, an operating connection between saidcrossbar assembly and said actuating rod means acting in a directionsuch that crowd pressure against said crossbar assembly effects upwardmovement of said actuating rod means and a shifting of said blocker outof blocking engagement with said shoulder whereby when crowd pressureincreases said pressure is translated to the outward side of the latchbolt, the actuating rod means and said blocker in a direction increasingthe force applicable to move said blocker to unblocking position.

1. An exit lock device for a door which is vertically hinged in anoutwardly swinging direction on a frame having an upper retaining meansadjacent the top end of the door, said device comprising an upper latchhousing on the door adjacent the top thereof, an upper latch bolt havinga body with outward and inward sides and a mounting on a portion of thebody thereof adjacent the outward side comprising a movable attachmentbetween said upper latch bolt and the housing, a latching projection onthe body located eccentric and inwardly with respect to said mounting,said latching projection being adapted to project above the upper end ofthe housing and having an outwardly facing section adapted to engagesaid upper retaining means whereby to hold the door in closed position,a downwardly facing shoulder on the inward side of said latch bolt, anda blocker having a mounting comprising a movable attachment between saidblocker and said housing and having a blocking element thereon movableto a location in blocking engagement with said shoulder, and actuatingrod means having a vertically reciprocable mounting relative to saidhousing, and a slide having a horizontally reciprocating mountingadjacent the top of the housing, said slide having a positive continuousengagement with said latch bolt in all positions of said latch bolt saidslide in closed position of the door having a retracted position inengagement with a portion of said retaining means and with said latchbolt in a direction productive of retention of said latch bolt inupwardly projected position, said rod means being attached to saidblocker at a location eccentric with respect to said attachment of theblocker on the housing and at a location adapted to move said blockerinwardly out of said blocking engagement upon movement upwardly of saidrod means and movement outwardly of said door whereby to release saidlatch bolt for movement in response to pressure against said upperretaining means out of engagement with said upper retaining means andfor movement of said slide to projecting position.
 2. An exit device asin claim 1 wherein engagement of the outwardly facing section of theupper latch bolt with the upper retaining means is at a locationrearwardly and upwardly of said movable mounting whereby pressureapplied to said door in an outward direction assists in urging saidlatch bolt to unlatched position.
 3. An exit lock device as in claim 1wherein said attachments comprise spaced parallel pivotal mountingsrespectively for said latch bolt and said blocker, the pivotal mountingof the blockEr being inward relative to the mounting of said latch bolt.4. An exit lock device as in claim 1 wherein there is a horizontallyextending crossbar assembly, means mounting said crossbar assembly onthe inward side of the door, an operating connection between saidcrossbar assembly and said actuating rod means acting in a directionsuch that crowd pressure against said crossbar assembly effects upwardmovement of said actuating rod means and a shifting of said blocker outof blocking engagement with said shoulder whereby when crowd pressureincreases said pressure is translated to the outward side of the latchbolt, the actuating rod means and said blocker in a direction increasingthe force applicable to move said blocker to unblocking position.